This month features building an adventure site full of angry witch owls set in Dolmenwood. Dolmenwood is a dark fairy tale that includes full rules using a slightly modified version of Old-School Essentials in a faerie woodland setting both fantastic and terrifying. PDFs of these books are available now with print copies likely available in a few months.
Where to Start
Previously, I talked about how to kick off a Dolmenwood campaign and include some of the excellent published adventures available. I also noted some additional adventure sites that could be expanded. I want to concentrate on hex 0609 where a hidden treasure lost to the Church and worth a reward if recovered is guarded by dangerous monsters called witch owls. This hex is northwest of the planned starting location of Lankshorn in hex 0710.
Time of Year and Unseason
A great time to start a campaign is the beginning of the last month of spring called Iggwyld. Have a player roll 1d4 and on a one, the unseason Colliggwyld begins. An unseason is a semi-random time of the year. Colliggwyld, if it occurs, involves massive fungal growth which assists with foraging.
Looking for Lore in Lankshorn
Clever PCs may learn that witch owls are the monster guarding the lost treasure. They may look into finding rumors or lore in Lankshorn before setting out. A bard who hears one of these rumors may make a Monster Lore check to determine if it is true or false.
Witch Owl Rumors
- Witch owls consume mortals’ memories and desires. True.
- A horrible screech paralyses all who hear it. True.
- They hoard magic tomes, scrolls, and wands. False.
- Fairies terrify them. False.
- A mirror is a good thing to bring along. Things inside might turn you to stone. Partially true. Bringing mirrors is a good idea although the turning to stone is a distortion telling of the witch owls’ gaze attack.
- Bring a ladder. Lots of ledges inside. Partially true. The ladder part is an old well known superstition but the part about ledges was added later. The owls do roost on a ledge, but the ladder would also help in crossing numerous pits.
Traveling from Lankshorn to Owl Cave
Weather: A random roll provides a result of warm and sunny.
Decide course: If the PCs travel from Lankshorn to Owl Cave, they will be heading west and then northwest, first by road and then into hilly forest decide on their course of travel for the day.
Losing direction: The Referee rolls with a two in six chance of the PCs getting lost once they leave the road.
Wandering monsters: The Referee makes a check for a daytime random encounter with a two in six chance. If one is rolled it is with 2d8 shaggy mammoths which are sleeping. If roused they are surprised and their initial reaction is uncertain and wary.
Description: The road west out of Lankshorn runs through farmland and then into plains and connects to a trail that leads into the hilly forest of the High Wold. Successful foraging yields 1d6 portions of Wolfsbane (DPB), in addition to the normal results. There are two sites of interest detailed below: The Trothstone and Owl Cave.
End of day: If still in the wilds, the party sets camp and the Referee updates time records including rations, spell durations, and the party’s need to rest.
The Trothstone (Hex 0609)
The western road out of Lankshorn (hex 0710) intersects an old path that leads north-west into the woods. PCs who follow the path about a mile into the tangled forest discover a pine glade. A dark stone plinth and a pair of guardian monoliths of ancient construction dominate the glade. Known to locals as the Trothstone, the stone plinth is the traditional location for weddings of longhorn nobles.
If an encounter is rolled, 2d8 shaggy mammoths are sleeping in the glade. If awakened, they are initially uncertain and wary. Shaggy mammoths tend to be peaceful but are extremely dangerous if angered. Their tusks are ivory and worth 2d4 x 100 gp but one gore can easily kill a normal person and a trample is even more likely to lead to a death.
The Owl Cave (Hex 0609)
Beyond the Trothstone is the deep wood. If the PCs venture there, they come within the territory of a group of four witch owls that make their lair in a stalactite-hung cave. Just outside the cave is a broken and rotting cart. A weeping willow hangs near the entrance, partially obscuring the entrance in shade.
Cave Room 1
When two shadows emerge from the gloom, the PCs have a five in six chance of being surprised. These shadows won’t come within ten feet of the opening to the outside during the day, and if the cave is flooded with sunlight perhaps by using mirrors, they will flee into cracks in the walls and not return. Shadows can only be harmed by magic and are quite dangerous.
Cave Room 2
A pit trap has partially collapsed, warning of danger. Hidden pits cover this room, making it hazardous to cross without careful searching or laying something across the floor like a bridge or ladder. Jumping a pit also has hazards as the jumper could be impaled on a hanging stalactite.
Cave Room 3
The entrance to the final two caves is hidden behind a mass of rocks in the back with a large open pit in front. In this pit are several dead owls all drained of strength and life and a scattering three amethysts and three violet spinels (each gem is worth 100 gp). If the pit is not crossed and the area behind the rocks examined, this room looks like the end of the cave system.
Cave Room 4
Four witch owls perch on a back ledge in a room full of open pits and more stalactites. Each witch owl has 12 wing tips made of copper and silver worth 25 gp each (300 gp per owl). In their nest are four gray ioun stones worth 100 gp each.
The last cave can only be entered through a pit right beneath the owls’ nest. It is partially collapsed but a search of the pit reveals a short tunnel leading to the final cave.
Cave Room 5
The short tunnel opens in another pit. It opens into a cave and in the back stands a five foot high statue of roughly human form, rimed with a sparkling crust of mineral deposits. If the PCs chip away the statue’s outer coating they reveal a granite tomb effigy of Saint Nuncy which was stolen from a neighboring kingdom a few centuries ago and hidden in this cave by its thieves, a band of delinquent friars. It is of great value to the Pluritine Church and worth 5,000 gp to them. It weighs 300 pounds.
Picture credit: Pixabay
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